One of the many fallacies of being a researcher/consultant by profession is trying to have a ‘point of view’ about the future. The most dreaded questions I hate to confront are – how do you think the market will grow in the next few years? What challenges do you foresee? What trends will shape the future? Every time any of these questions are asked, heads turn towards me and ‘pearls of wisdom’ are expected to fall out of my mouth. The first obvious answer that strikes my head is, “How would I know what the future is going to be?” Even the most credible futurists- Leonardo Da Vinci, Herman Khan, Arthur C. Clarke et all – have fallen well short on their prophecies. At best futurists have managed to paint an abstract vision of the future and in majority of the predictions it’s more of a desirable state to be in. That said, with my job in jeopardy, I have so far managed to dole out some ‘pearls’.
Most often as humans, our focus is more on ‘tomorrow’. Deep inside all the decisions and assumptions we make at individual/ family/ business levels are all targeted at tomorrow. And to make sure our future shapes up in a certain way we want, help is sought in the from astrology, charms, amulets, rings, special prayers etc etc. It’s even cross cultural! Chinese practices have found way into our lives with a promise of a providing a better future. Well that’s not bad at all, but most often than not it takes the ‘charm’ out of living in the present.
Here is why…
Incident #1: “The Lord lives in your toilet…”
About 5 months back, my best friend Anil and his wife Smitha had a double treat. They had recently bought an apartment and their first child was expected to arrive soon. In line with the Indian tradition Anil planned for a house warming ceremony and invited friends and relatives. With the ceremony done away with, Anil excitedly took me and few other friends on a grand tour of the house. As he was explaining to us about his plans for setting up the children’s room, a gruff voice from behind said, “Anil, the vaastu of you house is not proper.” We quickly turned around and there was a middle aged man in a white shirt and dhoti standing behind us. His look indicated that the situation was quite serious.
“The toilet in the master bedroom should not be in the place it is now. That’s the Kubera (lord of wealth) moola. You need to shift the toilet to where the cupboards are and vice-versa. At the moment the toilet is where the lord resides.” he said shaking his head.
“But uncle, the apartment is designed in a predefined way and it will be difficult to make changes.” said Anil.
“According to Vastu Shastra the entrance to your kitchen should also be from the east. It’s currently from the South. If you want to have a better life and prosper you need to make the changes. Vaastu is a science and it has existed for over 1000 years. Think about it, Smitha is soon going to have a child as well. I only wish the best for the both of you,” saying this he quickly turned and walked away.
Anil had a confused look on his face and as for me I was totally stumped by his words. Well when it comes to family and emotions logic flies out of the window. Anil could not deny the advice from his uncle as he was also Smitha’s foster father. So as it turned out, the next few days Anil and I did the rounds of architect offices. We also had to go through the painful process of getting permission from the building society and neighbors. Finally with the permissions in place and a new design in hand we set to calculate the cost. It turned out that Anil needed Rs. 6 lacs to modify his house. With an existing loan on the house and a baby on the way the extra burden seemed difficult to carry for Anil.
One evening as we sat smoking in the balcony I asked Anil, “Do you really need to make those changes?”
“Do I have a choice KG. I only wish for a better future for Smitha, me and our child. What if something goes wrong tomorrow? Who is to blame?” The strain in his voice said it all.
“Think about it, the extra money you need should not pressurize your daily life. It could end up with you slogging overtime to make the money and in the process losing the happiness of being with your family. The God resides in our heart not in the toilet. Be practical bro. Things will turn out well.” I said. It seemed the best possible advice I could give to Anil considering his situation.
Incident #2: 10 rings to rule us all
I had a research assignment to deliver by the end of the day when my phone buzzed. The name “Mahesh-Chennai Cousin” flashed on my phone. I did not want another interruption to my work so I quickly hit the ‘ignore’ button. After five minutes the phone buzzed again. Irritated I picked the call.
“Karthik, how are you?” asked a familiar voice at the other end.
“Good Mahesh. Is this urgent? I am in the middle of something important.” I said hoping to disconnect the call soon.
“Yes. I am coming to Bangalore for an interview tomorrow. The office is in electronic city…...” Mahesh said.
I knew what was coming next. So I quickly cut in,” You can come home and stay if you want. But I might not be able to pick you from the station. Take a rickshaw. You can take a cab from home to the office. Sorry I have to rush. See you.” With this I disconnected the call. As an afterthought probably my behavior was rude, but then if you grow up with forty-three cousin’s life gets a little hectic playing the good host.
Well Mahesh did land up in my house the next morning. The best quality that I like about his personality is his positive outlook. I have never seen him sulk about anything. Even in the toughest of situations he manages to see the bright side. As we sat sipping coffee I couldn’t help notice the rings on his fingers. I counted eight and they were in various shapes and sizes. The last time I had seen him was at his wedding two years ago, and I vividly remembered the rings not being there.
“The prices have gold and silver have soared in the last few years. Somehow for you it’s always within reach” I said sarcastically pointing at his fingers.
“Oh no Karthik. I have the bad look of Shani (one the nine primary celestial beings in Hindu astrology) from the last two years. Guru (another celestial being) is also not in the right position. It ‘s in the 7th house now. Hence I am going through a bad patch in life. It’s a period of struggle for me. So these rings give me mental peace, reduces the ill effects and will help me overcome my problems” said Mahesh.
“So do you think wearing these rings will make your present or future better?” I enquired.
“Of course. You see the white stone in my index finger makes my mind calm, the yellow saffire helps me overcome the ill effects of Guru, the red pearl will help me get a better job and the white stone here will give me more money” said Mahesh pointing to the various rings. “ I visited a famous astrologer Swami Durai Sarvanan and he looked at my horoscope and predicted that in 6 months time I will go to the US. He also said I would be blessed with a boy child within a year and my financial situation would improve. In two years I will buy a house and my status will go up” he added.
Well his logic defied me and I couldn’t help but say, “ Come one Mahesh. Please don’t be silly. How can these rings give you a better future or help you overcome your current problems? It’s impossible to predict the future. If you work hard and strive to excel in what you do, things will change for the better.”
“Well you can accelerate the good things that happen to you by understanding the celestial beings better. If you can appease them with prayers and pooja’s they will do good for you. Believe me Karthik things are better today than they were 3 months ago with me. Take astrology seriously, it’s a perfect science. Swami Durai can predict the future with 100% accuracy. I will take you there and within six months you will become the manager of your company. Trust me it works” said Mahesh.
My patience had reached its limit and I fought to keep my temper under control. “Mahesh, please do not be misled by superstitions. Your life is in your hands. It’s good to hope for a better tomorrow and have faith. But things like this should not clutter your mind and take away your self-belief. I always admired your positive outlook, somehow its lost now” I said.
Before my adversary could respond I got up and walked away. I called a cab to take Mahesh for the interview and left for office.
I am not against dreaming big or setting goals and hoping for a better future. In pursuit of a better future we surrender ourselves to superficial and meaningless practices that completely changes our present lives. We single mindedly begin to believe that such practices will yield the results that we so desperately seek. This is also intertwined with our fear for failure. Somehow the very thought of failure pushes us to the brink of taking radical steps. Compromises are also made with our values and ethics. We fail to realize that to achieve our dreams failure is an integral part. The learning we get from our failures will become the fuel to achieve the future we dream. However the future, as always will remain unpredictable.
Epilogue
Anil did not make the vaastu changes that his uncle suggested. But he has stopped using the toilet in which Lord Kubera lives. Smitha gave birth to a beautiful girl child a month ago.
Mahesh was rejected in the first round of interview and went back to Chennai depressed. He is planning to go to Dubai now.
